I do agree that one should NOT insult the people (in general) who harbor delusional religious thinking. I don't condone turning any criticism of thought/reason into Ad Hominim attacks on either side.
Not to say that there's anything wrong with insulting someone that one generally doesn't like - i.e. Its not Ad Hominim for me to say that Mitch McConnell is a stupid, dangerous, possibly evil, ignorant fool who not only doesn't deserve to be a Senator, he doesn't deserve to pick out his own underpants. He's a complete idiot and on top of that, I can easily and dispassionately deconstruct every one of his ridiculous positions on any topic. The two correlate but I don't say his arguments are silly because he's an idiot. I say he's an idiot because his positions are so ridiculous and his provably ridiculous positions and the danger he represents in spewing them as a Senator make me despise him.
Insults of the people suffering from religion aside - religious belief (and all magical thinking, all supernatural thinking, all credulity in things for which there is no evidence) is a mental defect, a delusion (i.e. a persistent belief in things for which there is no evidence, or for which there is evidence against). It is not generally recognized as a mental defect because it is so wide-spread. But - if everyone on the planet were addicted to alcohol (alcoholism) that would not make it any less of a disease. Everyone on the planet is mortal and therefore dying of at least 'old-age'. While it took centuries, 'old-age', (senescence) is now recognized as a disease, a cascade failure of systems which might be curable. In the same way, the disease of delusional credulity in things for which there is no evidence is a mental disorder.
I would not endorse personal attacks on theists, not on them as people, but it is fair to label them ignorant, because clearly they are ignorant of at least the fact that they are suffering from a delusion. Everyone is deluded about something, it's part of having an organic super computer like a mammalian brain - 90% of one's experience is generated internally. Our theory of mind, our sense of self, the ephemeral thing we think of as 'I', or being conscious - it's an emergent property of an organ designed to keep this mechanism functional and to propagate it's genome.
Having a working brain doesn't guarantee accurate perception of reality, it only helps inform the behavior of the animal far enough to achieve those goals of propagating one's genome.
But our brains are so complex now that we can expand our theory of mind and we can observe the mechanism that is doing the observing and we understand it's strengths and weaknesses.
(or... I should say we ARE BEGINNING to understand its strengths and weaknesses.)
We can KNOW when and where our brain's inherent weaknesses manifest and we can build mental tools (and physical tools) to keep us from succumbing to those impulses and urges which are now dangerous due to our scope and breath of destructive capacity. In other words, knowing how prone to delusion we are, the armor against it is to refute/refuse any claims which are NOT SUPPORTED BY EVIDENCE. The corollary is that humanity must not tolerate delusional, magical, supernatural thinking in any form. It is like giving everyone a nuclear bomb. It's just too dangerous to allow.
There is only one way to cure this disease and that is to give it no quarter, to constantly throw reason and logic and rational thought at it. To REFUSE to tolerate it.
And it is important to fight this because magical thinking - credulity in things that cannot be proved - open up too too far too many dangers.
Imagine for a moment if it was A FACT that if you performed a certain function or act, that you would DEFINITELY receive an immeasurable reward? Imagine for a moment that it was a FACT - and undisputed FACT that one human was worth something but another human was not? There is no evidence that killing infidels will get you to paradise. There is no evidence that christians are going to heaven and jews are not. Yet - if someone is afflicted with the disease of magical supernatural thinking - it is possible for them to be UNABLE to realize that it is NOT A FACT.
If it WAS A FACT that killing infidels was GOOD and if it WAS A FACT that killing infidels was the key into PARADISE then it is perfectly rational to kill infidels.
ALL religions, all magical thinking, all credulity, all moderation and tolerance of this disease opens up the possibility of an infected person believing things for which there are no evidence, i.e. thinking things for which there is no evidence is a fact.
Even simple, so-called moderately afflicted people are dangerous. Think of all the people who Pray instead of taking action? Think of all the people who tacitly accept ludicrous actions because of tradition? Who turn a blind eye to discrimination or to ostricization due to some superstition. Think of the Psychological Damage done to children who are terrified by delusions of hell and ghosts and other mumbo-jumbo. Think of all the DEATH And SUFFERING due to religious opposition to scientific research deemed 'against god's will' which includes a lot of vaccination research of the past.
This disease must be confronted and should not be tolerated any more than one should tolerate Cancer or Heroin addiction. Certainly those that are afflicted should not be abused or attacked ad hominim. But - the beliefs themselves deserve NO RESPECT WHATSOEVER and in fact DESERVE TO BE CONTINUALLY put under the scathing scrutiny of reason. The important thing is to not turn disrespect of the belief into disrespect in the person harboring the belief because that person is suffering from an affliction.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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